Despite how advanced technology has become in recent years—from automated vacuum cleaners to AI agents—burnout seems to be on the rise.

Workplace stress in Canada has been trending upward. National data indicates that daily employee stress increased from 50% in 2019 to 58% in 2025, while approximately 21% of Canadian workers reported high or very high work-related stress in 2023.

With the introduction of technology came the promise of greater efficiency, ease and flexibility.

So why are we still experiencing increasing levels of stress and overwhelm?

Here’s my unpopular opinion:

Before the rise of today’s technology, lower productivity could often be attributed to a lack of resources. If something took longer to complete because you were working with manual processes or limited tools, a slower pace was somewhat understandable.

Technology has changed that.

The tools available to us have removed many of those barriers—and, in doing so, may have unintentionally removed some of the tolerance for a slower pace.

Productivity is no longer just expected. Higher productivity has become the expectation.

And because these tools are accessible to almost everyone, the baseline keeps moving.

If technology allows you to produce twice as much as you did before, why stop at your previous pace?

So you keep pushing.

You respond to one more email. Take one more meeting. Finish one more task. Use AI to squeeze a little more productivity out of your day.

And then another day.

And another.

Until the pace that was supposed to make life easier becomes the pace you are expected to maintain.

And eventually, you burn out.

Brené Brown, in Strong Ground, explains the difference between stress and overwhelm:

“Stress is barely managing the Whac-a-Mole game at the carnival. Overwhelm is leaving the carnival in tears and not being able to find my car.”

That distinction really resonated with me.

Stress may mean we are struggling to keep up.

Overwhelm is when we have gone beyond our capacity to cope.

Brown suggests a powerful antidote to overwhelm:

“Nothingness, mindful play, or no-agenda non-doing time.”

In other words, sometimes the answer isn’t another productivity hack.

Sometimes, the answer is stopping.

Take the timer off.

Step away.

Recharge.

Do something that has no measurable outcome.

Create space before stress becomes overwhelm.

Even ChatGPT occasionally pauses a conversation after a number of interactions, unless you have access to unlimited usage. There is something ironic about that.

We have created technology that needs limits, rest periods and capacity controls—yet we often expect ourselves to operate continuously.

The reality is that unlimited productivity comes at a price.

What are you giving up to keep going?

Your health?

Your family?

Your friendships?

Your ability to simply enjoy being present?

And perhaps the more important question:

Is the price worth it?

What do you think is driving burnout beyond the pressure to be more productive?

I would love to hear your thoughts.